I’m in a pickle. For the first time in my life I am able to cast my vote in a General Election and I don’t know what to do. My first political memory was when Tony Blair’s New Labour won the 1997 election. I was a month off being 8 years old and I could sense the excitement. We had moved to Brighton a year earlier from North Berwick, a small town 20 odd miles from Edinburgh. As fond as the memories are I have of North Berwick and as lovely and quaint as it is, I think it’s safe to say Brighton had more of a political vibrancy about it. It was a good place to start learning about politics.
I feel very lucky to have spent a good chunk of my childhood in a place where anything went. As everyone knows, in Brighton, it’s more than acceptable to be gay. I was seeing black and Asian people walking down the street. I didn’t see that in North Berwick. My world was being opened up. I was learning about different cultures. I’m not suggesting that I would have turned out to be racist and homo-phobic if I had stayed in North Berwick but to go from there to such a radically different place, certainly helped me develop.
However, I have developed a better understanding of Brighton as I’ve got older and I’m aware that it is not the perfect place. I love it but if you scratch beneath its apparent socialist and egalitarian ideas, you will see that the ideas are being put forward from a very middle class platform. So the question has to be asked, how much do these ideals mean in relation to where they’re coming from? The hypocrisy in modern political thinking is staggering. I can tell you for a fact that a large number of people in Brighton will vote Green. I can also tell you that the same people will own a five bedroomed house, a 4×4 and probably another, smaller car to get from A to B. The exaggeration here isn’t huge.
So, where does all this leave me? Well, I’m the same. Unfortunately I have to put myself in the same bracket. OK, i don’t own a house or a car. But I am at university and I live smack bang in the middle of my university town in what is officially called a “maisonette.” I’ve sold out already and I’m only 20! I consider myself to be a socialist safe in the knowledge that I don’t always behave like one. If I was a true socialist would I be at university? Would I own an expensive laptop? Would I have chosen to live in a “maisonette?”
The problem with all of us is that we are excessive in our wants and mistake some of these wants for needs. The luxury and extravagance of our lives is so great that it threatens society and the planet. We need a change in the political system to sort society out properly. And if we really want equality then people like myself are going to have to take cut backs on our own lives. If you say to someone “OK you want an equal society, to get this under way you have to take a 40% cut on your lifestyle and consumerism.” It would be interesting to see how many people would go along with that. I’ve got a feeling the person in the 5 bedroomed house with the 4×4 might want to stay put. And why not? They’ve been sold the game. The house, the cars, the sky tele. They’ve got every right to it because it’s available. I’m at university. I’ve been sold that one. “Go to uni, you’ve got to if you want to get anywhere in life, hold on though, we’re going to make sure you’re 20 or 30 grand in debt by the time you come out.”
In the words of Voxtrot, “We are living in some tiny joke.” Basically if no one votes in the General Election then we have the opportunity for real change. The only reason I would vote is to stop far right parties surpassing other parties. Politics has become so boring. Mainly because most of the talk is about recession, budgets and expenses and nobody really knows what any of it means. Or cares. I’m probably not going to vote to show I don’t care, wishing that I did care. And then I’ll realise I do care and wish I had voted. It’s a big decision. Needs a lot of thought as you can guess.
March 24, 2010 at 5:27 pm |
I am worried about the amount of young people that will not vote in the upcoming election because it’s “boring” or they “know nothing about politics”. I feel that someone who makes an informed decision not to vote is entitled to their opinion (not that i agree with it) however, I feel the majority will not vote due to a lack of education. I will be voting Lib Dem not because I think they will gain power (if only) but as a tactical vote in my constituency to keep the Torys out. I feel that anything, anything at all, is better than another Tory government and so I urge people to vote whatever their circumstances or opinion of politics. A lot of the manifesto that each party has put forward will effect our age group so it would be terrible if we are not representative in the vote. Great blog nonetheless.
March 24, 2010 at 5:48 pm |
Really good post. Have you considered spoiling your ballot? I think I’m right in saying that they have to count spoiled ballots. I’d love to hear what Westminster would have to say if half the country just scrawled “wankers” across their ballot paper.
March 24, 2010 at 7:23 pm |
I’m gonna vote Lib Dem because they say they’d take down some CCTV cameras – our country has the most CCTV cameras in the world, which doesn’t seem right to me. People should choose whether they want to live a life on Big Brother.
Have you seen http://www.MyDavidCameron.com? It’s pretty funny
March 25, 2010 at 12:32 am |
Can’t believe you voted Voxtrot, but its fine it’s good it works.
Tony Benn said that voting is a wonderful thing, its the only day of the year you have the same amount of political power as the prime minister. I think it’s very important to vote, not only because it would be a negative if the conservatives are in power, but, because people fought for their right to vote. Me, a Caucasian 21 year old male, would always be allowed to vote but women and alot of ethnic minorities would not, and have lobbied and fought and now can. So, even if I feel unsure, disheartened, disappointed or annoyed about the parties available for my vote, I’m going to in honour of them. I’d feel arrogant if i ignored it.
Im gonna vote green.
March 25, 2010 at 1:55 pm |
Interesting blog. To vote or not vote ? What does it matter anyway? The sense of alienation from the political process is palpable.Certainly hard fought for democracy is the loser. The system is not perfect and improvements to the method of representative democracy that we have are needed.The introduction of Proportional representation, in one form or another, would at least enhance democracy and perhaps connect individuals a liittle more closely to the political process. In other lands, in the twenty first century, people are literally risking their lives to cast their vote. The right to vote should never be taken for granted.
March 26, 2010 at 12:19 pm |
A fascinating blog. Indeed to vote or not to vote? For me, there is no question. You must. You must have an opinion. The current political climate must not hinder this process. It should never be taken for granted. It is a right that we have. The questions raised are important and good to think about. A thoughtful and interesting blog.